However, though I come for the picture-perfect fashion, I stay for the refreshing glimpses of reality. I love when the royal kids act like regular kids.

So my favorite takeaway from the christening, beyond the fun photo of the well-dressed family of five, was Princess Charlotte's comment.

It also delights me when Prince George appears utterly unimpressed by a royal affair because -- again -- #normalkid.

How often has your preschooler not cared ONE BIT about something an adult deems important? And offered a response -- or, more likely, the kind of non-response -- to said adult that makes this crystal clear?

(Deep down, isn't that refreshing? Kids don't put on pretenses.)

My favorite moment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's May 19 wedding was this one, when the flower girl turned flamingo:

Parents, can't you relate?

There's something about a special event or a long line that causes a 3-year-old's limbs to give out. The weight of those few pounds of leg becomes unbearable, and suddenly Mom is the only available support system.

You can polish and preen them all you want, but kids are still just kids.

I love that.

Christina Ries is a freelance writer who lives with her husband and three young children in Inver Grove Heights. Write her at christina@mnparent.com.